"You damned bastard! I'm going to tear your face off, hang your head at my bedroom door, and skin you for a rug..."
Sonia shrieked, her voice trembling with rage and fear. Ominous energy surged wildly, and the power of death climbed higher and higher. More Screamers appeared, their wails echoing through the chaos...
Reina and Sonia were locked in a fierce battle. Hubert and Shelton were fighting too. But Leon remained motionless, quietly staring at Maxwell.
Maxwell didn't move either, his gaze fixed on Leon. Behind Maxwell, a dozen Sky Rank powerhouses stood guard, ignoring the rest of the fighting. They clustered around him like bodyguards, focused only on his protection.
Gradually, the atmosphere grew heavier and heavier. Magic surged around Leon, the aura of a Sky Rank Level Four mage spreading out. Yet even the magic leaking from his body was enough to match half the reserves of an ordinary Sky Rank Four. Droplets of liquid mana slowly revolved around Leon, swirling like rain.
Leon gripped the Doombringer Staff. The Arcane Wheel and Spellbook of Ages hovered at his left and right, while the Death Tome rested in his left hand. The chains binding the Death Tome had snapped, though the pages remained closed for now.
A phantom wheel, dozens of meters across, floated behind Leon. The wheel was made of countless interlocking circles, with runes of law flickering in and out of view as it spun.
Across from him, Maxwell's body slowly lifted into the air. He held a crystal orb that shimmered with rainbow light, watching Leon in silence. Waves of color rippled through the crystal, shining like water.
After nearly ten minutes of standoff, Maxwell finally spoke first, a hint of regret in his voice.
Archmage Leon Merlin, your strength is impressive. Among all mages below Sky Rank Level 5, you are the only one my eyes cannot see through. Not even forty years old, and already a Sky Rank Level 4 powerhouse—your talent is extraordinary.
I’ve heard you’re a top-tier creator, not only mastering alchemical potions, but also magitech, alchemical golems, and alchemical arrays—all at the level of a master creator. In fact, your alchemical skills often surpass those of other creators.
Even in theoretical research, you far surpass everyone else. You are a true genius.
You may not know this, but our organization is called the Thorned Crown. The Shadow Tower and Rose Circle are merely subsidiary forces of the Thorned Crown. Unlike other mage factions, we pursue the true meaning of magic—the path of truth.
Your grudge with the Shadow Tower doesn’t interest me; that’s their business. If the Rose Circle makes trouble for you, that’s their problem too. You haven’t affected the Thorned Crown.
Leon’s expression remained cold, a sneer flickering in his heart. The Thorned Crown was founded thousands of years ago—a loose alliance of mages seeking the essence of magic. Back then, the only reason for their existence was magical research.
But the Thorned Crown today is no longer a loose alliance—it’s a twisted organization, willing to do anything for power. Bloodline transplants with alien species? In the future, that’s a path to self-destruction.
Walking a path lined with thorns, my blood stains each one. I pluck the blood-soaked thorns and weave them into a crown. May this crown coronate me as I walk the road of thorns.
Leon slowly recited the words, and a look of shock flashed across Maxwell’s face.
How do you know the Thorned Crown’s oath?
A trace of pity and disdain flickered in Leon's eyes.
The Thorned Crown's original purpose was admirable. Many foundational theories and research still trace back to its earliest members. But their time ended, and the Thorned Crown has only grown worse, long since forgetting the founders' intentions...
Maxwell's surprised expression faded, and the gentle light from the crystal orb in his hand suddenly turned sharp and piercing.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Maxwell, but you may call me Max. Anywhere else, I would invite you to join the Thorned Crown myself.
But here, I can only regret your impending demise. This plane belongs to the Thorned Crown—it's far too important to us. I'm afraid you'll have to be sacrificed."
You may not understand the gap between Sky Rank Level 4 and Level 5. It's not something the lower levels can compare to. I know your combat power is formidable, but this is where your journey ends. Rest in peace, Archmage Leon Merlin."
As he finished speaking, a terrifying aura erupted from Maxwell. The shadow of a demi-plane appeared behind him, and the oppressive force scattered the thin clouds overhead. The air grew heavy, rules bent to Maxwell's will, aiding him.
Feeling the pressure of pure rule power, Leon raised his Fusion Shield, yet still felt restricted—he could only wield eighty percent of his true strength.
Against a powerhouse like Maxwell, the difference between eighty and a hundred percent is vast. That tiny gap could mean being easily crushed. Without full power, true resistance is impossible.
After sensing the situation, Leon sighed inwardly. Without the support of a demi-plane or resistance to rule power, the gap was simply too great. Facing a Sky Rank Level 5 mage is nothing like facing a Sky Rank Level 5 alchemical golem—the difference is enormous.
No wonder Sky Rank Level 5 is a watershed, like a plane unto itself. The overwhelming power of a mage begins here. After Level 5, the best mages stand at the pinnacle among all supernatural beings, even within their own tier.
Ordinary humans are bottom-tier in strength among all beings of the same rank, limited by weak bloodlines. But once past Sky Rank Level 5, those limits vanish—the power of wisdom fully manifests, and its influence only grows. At the peak, few supernatural beings can truly challenge a mage.
Realizing this, Leon had no choice but to summon his own demi-plane projection. The suppression of rule power is fundamental; reaching a comparable level is the only way to avoid being crushed and to keep fighting. If even this can't hold, the battle will end swiftly...
The projection of Leon's demi-plane appeared, carrying his insights into the rules. He began to wield rule power; Sky Pillar glimmered faintly, drawing forth the natural rules of the semi-plane to form a projection alongside his own.
Even if the natural rules of the demi-plane can't be fully grasped or used, its defensive power is still terrifyingly strong.
With the natural demi-plane's projection in place, Maxwell's suppression was easily blocked.
Rule confrontation is the most direct and violent. Between Leon and Maxwell, space twisted and shimmered with countless bands of light—the clash of pure rule power, a struggle for control. It looked like a swirling aurora, beautiful yet deadly; anything caught in it would be torn to shreds instantly.
Time passed slowly. After three whole minutes, the twisted aurora between Leon and Maxwell finally faded. Their mastery of rule power reached equilibrium; neither could overwhelm the other.
Maxwell's rules were fundamentally stronger than Leon's, but Leon wielded greater quantity and had the demi-plane's formidable defense. It was like a world's shield—offense could be ignored, but defense far surpassed their current rank.
This gave Leon the qualification to continue fighting, preventing him from being crushed outright. The duel of spells was just beginning...
The moment the rule confrontation faded, Maxwell's crystal orb began to float and spin around him. He chanted in a guttural tongue as rule runes swirled nearby, and eerie magical patterns crept across his skin and face.
Suddenly, fist-sized crystal orbs appeared before Leon, each dazzling with color. Instantly, a sense of mortal danger surged—his Arcane Wheel spun wildly, magical engine arrays roared, and countless data streams flashed before his eyes.
In less than a blink, Leon chose his defense. The Spellbook of Ages snapped open, the Dragon Staff tapped its cover, and a spell shot forth—its color shifting from silver to void. As it appeared, it devoured nearby mana, and spatial ripples formed around Leon, stretching the space infinitely...
At the same time, Maxwell's crystal orbs all detonated. Each orb became a gateway, unleashing razor-sharp crystal spikes hundreds or even thousands of meters long, flooding the space like a nest of thorns.
These crystal spikes were like the sharpest spears, piercing everything in their path. When they collided, spatial ripples flared and the spikes intertwined, extending madly.
The stretched space around Leon was quickly pierced and shredded by the crystal spikes, spawning cracks and fragments in the fabric of reality.
Guided by calculations from the Arcane Wheel and magical arrays, Leon twisted and dodged, his body swaying as spatial runes floated around him, warping the space.
After a second, the turbulent mana calmed. Leon, eyes grave, found himself surrounded by crystal spikes—the Fusion Shield had been pierced before it could even react.
Though pierced, the Fusion Shield did not dissipate. Rule runes circled the spikes that had breached it, but the shield could not recover the damaged spots.
The crystal spikes tangled around Leon like dead branches in a nest, chaotic and entwined. Some spikes, which would have impaled him, bent away in strange arcs, missing his body.
That was space forcibly twisted by Leon—the crystal spikes could not destroy the warped space, so they followed its contours, appearing to bend around him before continuing straight onward.
Surveying the dense lattice of crystal around him, Leon felt a cold sweat break out on his brow.
Nullbreaker Crystal...
Crystal magic—the innate bloodline power of Crystal Plane creatures. Some crystal fiends can control Nullbreaker Crystals, able to pierce any shield formed by mana, their piercing power utterly unreasonable, tearing through all obstacles...
Irrelevant system message about the chapter not ending and reading the next page. Skipped.
That old man actually transplanted a Crystal Fiend's bloodline—and managed to succeed, no less. Even the crystals summoned by his magic are Nullbreaker Crystals...
If I hadn't used the Arcane Wheel and magical arrays to calculate the danger and chosen a space expansion spell from the Spellbook of Ages instead of a shield, I'd be dead by now...
This space expansion spell was something I grasped every time I visited Astrologer Agalon, inspired by those altered spatial rules on the hillside and my own insights. I created this defensive spell from that understanding.
It stretches the space around my body indefinitely—any attack must traverse this extended space first. What was once a kilometer may become fifteen or more. If a spell can't cross that expanse, it can never harm me.
But for some spells, the effect weakens—like these Nullbreaker Crystals, whose piercing power is absurd. Even stretched space is easily punctured, cutting the spell's effectiveness by more than half.
Once the crystals stilled, Leon spat out another space rune, and the space around him shuddered violently. The crystals shattered into fragments, then an elemental blast sent them flying.
In the sky, a crystal flower spanning thousands of meters exploded, raining shards like glass from above.
Leon hovered in midair, mana surging, surrounded by dense, swirling rule runes.
Far off, Maxwell looked at Leon in surprise—he hadn't expected Leon to survive. The crystal spike attack had filled every meter of space around him, leaving no room larger than a human body. With Nullbreaker Crystal's power, anything inside should've been instantly shredded...
Yet Leon was completely unharmed, untouched by the assault...
"Archmage Leon Merlin, you truly are surprising. I didn't expect you to master spatial rules. But it doesn't matter—the power of crystal magic is something no shield can withstand...
Seeing you here is a pity, but this is where you fall..."
A hint of regret crossed Maxwell's face as he resumed chanting.
As Maxwell began his incantation, Leon opened the Death Tome. The powers of the Elemental Chapter and Senluo Chapter manifested together. From the Spellbook of Ages, a long incantation unfurled—a lightning cannon barrel over a hundred meters long appeared, and a half-meter custom shell shot out the back, vanishing instantly after electromagnetic acceleration.
Covering nearly two thousand meters in an instant, the shell hurtled toward Maxwell. He did not pause his chanting, but the crystal orb floating nearby moved to intercept, forming a semi-circular crystal shield before him.
Lightning danced on the shell as it struck the rainbow crystal shield, unleashing a violent explosion. The custom shell burst, sending shards flying and blasting the radiant crystal orb away.
At the same moment, after firing the first shot, Leon extended the electromagnetic cannon barrel another hundred meters and launched a second shell.
Seeing this, Maxwell's expression finally changed. The rainbow crystal orb was blasted away, and with the crystal shield already covered in cracks, it couldn't possibly withstand another strike.
Countless scenes flashed through Maxwell's mind. In an instant, his confident smile returned.
This spell is immensely powerful. With the right materials, its raw force exceeds most ninth-tier spells, even without supernatural power. But its flaw is obvious—the shockwave it creates cannot change direction, and only those directly in its path are threatened.
A pity, really. Archmage Leon Merlin is a true genius—this innovative lightning spell uses a unique force, and the casting materials are remarkable. But he's still too young...